Vehicle automation has been suggested as a means to increase vehicle safety almost as long as cars have been in existence—experiments on autonomy in cars have been conducted since at least the 1920s. Only recently, though, has computer technology advanced enough to make true vehicle automation possible.
In addition to improving safety while driving, autonomous vehicles have the opportunity to increase the utilization of vehicles; for example, by enabling multiple people to share rides taken with a single vehicle. To fully take advantage of this opportunity; however, autonomous vehicles must be able to accurately and quickly locate and identify passengers.
Thus, there is a need in the vehicle automation field to create and methods for detecting an intended passenger of an autonomous vehicle. This invention provides such new and useful systems and methods.